TL;DR
A Germany visa costs around £128 per adult from the UK if you apply yourself: the €90 consulate fee, about £81, TLScontact's service fee of about £28 to £35 (an estimate; TLScontact does not publish it openly), and insurance from about £12. On the embassy's waiting list the TLScontact fee is paid within 24 hours of an allocation. Having it prepared for you is a £99 service fee on top, with the official fees still paid by you.
What it costs
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Consulate fee (adult) | €90 (about £81), paid at the appointment |
| TLScontact service fee | about £28 to £35 (estimate, not published openly), paid within 24 hours of a waiting-list allocation |
| Travel insurance (minimum €30,000 cover) | from about £12 |
| DIY total per adult | around £128 |
| Our done-for-you service | £99 service fee, first applicant; £69 each extra applicant; official fees still paid by you |
Germany sits at the pricier end of the mainstream Schengen destinations from the UK, and the extra cost comes entirely from one line: the service fee charged by TLScontact, which runs Germany's UK centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh. TLScontact does not publish that fee openly, so we label it as an estimate. The breakdown is from our 24 June 2026 check.
Only the middle line is uncertain. The €90 consulate fee is fixed by EU rules and identical for every Schengen country: €45 for children aged 6 to 11, free for children under 6, impossible for any agency to discount, and non-refundable if the visa is refused. The insurance requirement is also universal: at least €30,000 of medical and repatriation cover for the whole Schengen area and the whole trip, with compliant policies starting from about £12. The TLScontact fee is the number you will only see confirmed when an appointment is allocated, which is why we quote a range rather than pretending to a precision the source does not support.
When the fees are paid
Germany differs from most destinations in the timing. Since 1 June 2026 the German Embassy has run an appointment waiting list through TLScontact in London and Manchester, because demand exceeds the visa section's capacity. You register, appointments are allocated first come first served, and the embassy's notice says: "Once an appointment has been allocated, you have to pay the service fee within 24 hours." Miss it and the appointment is cancelled and you rejoin the list. The €90 consulate fee is then paid at the appointment itself. Edinburgh, which serves applicants living in Scotland, is not named in the notice. The list is explained in our Germany waiting list guide.
What can add to the cost
TLScontact, like the other operators, sells optional extras on top of the mandatory fees: courier return of your passport so you skip the collection trip, prime-time appointments, and an on-site photo service for anyone whose photos fail the biometric spec. Take none of them and you pay none of them. Arriving with compliant photos and a complete, printed document set is the cheapest route through the centre, and our free checklist generator tells you exactly what that set should contain. A refusal, by contrast, writes off well over £100 in consulate and centre fees, which no preparation refunds but good preparation largely prevents; the German consulates refused 3.2% of UK applications in 2025.
Is a service worth it?
In plain terms: a service does not lower the €90 or TLScontact's fee, cannot shorten the consulate's 15-day clock, and cannot move you up the embassy's list. The embassy's own notice says "it is NOT necessary to engage an agency to process your visa application or to file documents", and that is correct; the Germany guide and the free tools on this site cover every step.
What £99 buys is the form completed, the pack built to the German checklist, the registration done once and correctly, in the right category with details matching your passport, and a desk that keeps the file ready so that when the allocation comes you can pay within the 24 hours and attend. The file is ready within 24 hours of your complete documents or the fee back; for Germany, booked means registered on the list within 3 working days of your complete file, or the fee back. If your file is straightforward and you have the time, apply yourself. If you would rather not, our Germany visa service explains exactly what is done and what is not.
Cheaper and pricier alternatives
If your itinerary gives you a genuine choice of main destination, the savings elsewhere are real. The Netherlands totals about £111 per adult on the back of VFS Global's verified £18 fee, and Spain is cheaper still at about £108 thanks to BLS International's £14.85. That is roughly £17 to £20 per adult less than Germany, which multiplies for a family. Going the other way, France, also through TLScontact, comes to about £138 and Iceland to about £129. The rule to respect: you must apply to the country where you will spend the most nights, so Germany's figure is the one that matters if Germany anchors your trip.
Where to go from here
The application route, registration, the waiting list and documents, is walked through in our Germany visa from the UK guide and Germany visa appointment in the UK. See where around £128 lands Germany in the full 28-country ranking at the UK Schengen cost index, or price your exact party with the cost calculator. Prefer not to deal with the paperwork at all? Our Germany visa service is a £99 service fee; you pay the official fees yourself.
Sources
Common questions
- 01
How much does a Germany visa cost from the UK?
Around £128 per adult if you handle it yourself: the fixed €90 consulate fee (about £81), TLScontact's service fee of about £28 to £35, and travel insurance from about £12. Children aged 6 to 11 pay a €45 consulate fee; children under 6 pay no consulate fee. If we prepare the application, our fee is £99 on top and the official fees are still paid by you.
- 02
What does TLScontact charge for a Germany visa in the UK?
TLScontact does not publish the fee openly, so we show a labelled estimate of about £28 to £35 rather than an exact figure. You see the precise charge when an appointment is allocated. Since 1 June 2026 the German embassy has run a waiting list through TLScontact in London and Manchester, and the fee must be paid within 24 hours of an allocation or the appointment is cancelled and you rejoin the list. The consulate fee itself is always €90 for adults.
- 03
Is the €90 Germany visa fee refundable if I am refused?
No. The €90 consulate fee is fixed EU-wide, cannot be discounted by any service, and is not refunded on refusal. The centre fee is also spent either way, which is why a complete, well-evidenced application is the best way to protect your money. The German consulates refused 3.2% of UK applications in 2025.
- 04
Is Germany one of the more expensive Schengen visas from the UK?
Yes, within the mainstream destinations. At around £128 per adult, Germany costs more than the Netherlands (about £111) and roughly £20 more than Spain (about £108), because TLScontact's service fee sits at the top end of what UK visa centres charge. France, also TLScontact, comes to about £138 and Iceland about £129.
- 05
Is a visa service worth it for Germany?
It does not lower any official fee, cannot move you up the embassy's waiting list, and the embassy itself says it is not necessary to engage an agency. It is worth £99 if you want the file built to the German checklist, the registration done in the right category with details matching your passport, and someone keeping the file ready so the 24-hour payment window is not missed. Otherwise the free guides on this site cover every step.
Free tools that pair with this guide